Spring car thefts in Terre Haute

Auto theft is on the rise nationwide.

This is a trend officials are seeing locally.

News 10's hannah follman is live in our newsroom.

She gives us more on why this is happening and how you can prevent it.

//////// according to a report by investopedia... last year, auto theft hit one of the highest rates in more than a decade.

Officials say this is likely correlated with the pandemic's economic impact on many individuals.

The national insurance crime bureau states that there were nearly 900,000 stolen vehicles in 2020.

This is nearly a 10% increase from the prior year.

Indiana state police say many of the vehicles that are being taken are older models with lower grade security systems. this includes the toyota camery, honda accord, and chevy and ford pick up trucks.

They told news 10 that people need to be more aware of where they are leaving their vehicles and what they are leaving behind.

//////// theres a lot of people just walking around filling stations and they see an opportunity and once they see that opportunity, take an advantage of it.

They will take your vehicle and then unfortunately you are standing there on the roadside with your fountain drink and nothing else.

//////// coming up at six we will discuss more helpful tips on how you can protect yourself and your vehicle.

Reporting live in the newsroom - hannah follman news 10 //////// we're dealing with a cloudy..

Spring kind of day!

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